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Thursday, October 9, 2008, 7:30-11:45 a.m., Doubletree Hotel, Rohnert Park

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Boundary deal may give new life to Town Center for American Canyon

AMERICAN CANYON – A potential boundary agreement between Napa County and the city of American Canyon could give new life to a 100-plus acre mixed-use development planned near the city’s Wal-Mart Supercenter.

The development, called Town Center, could include hundreds of homes, retail and commercial space, a new city hall, a library, parks, a school and other facilities.

First proposed more than 14 years ago, Town Center is a joint venture between Napa-based Jaeger Vineyards and Oakland-based McGrath Properties. The companies filed an application with the city in 2006, but they put the project on hold because of questions about American Canyon’s water supply and a dispute with the county over the city’s eventual boundaries.

But now a city committee has been exploring potential water sources, and the city and county are set to settle the boundary debate. This week, American Canyon’s City Council and the county’s Board of Supervisors are expected to ratify a new boundary agreement, which could open up at least 100 acres of additional land for the Town Center development.

City voters would then have to approve the boundary, and McGrath is funding such an initiative for the November ballot.

The new city boundary would include part of a 714-acre parcel, owned by Jaeger Vineyards, which borders the Town Center site. According to Jaeger Vineyards Managing Partner Jeff Jaeger, adding more land would strengthen the project because it would leave room for parks, a school and other facilities that the city wants the developers to contribute.

“There’s a lot of services and expansion of services that the city needs, and the only way to get the expansion of those services is allowing development to occur and allowing the developer to pay for those services, so you have to have scale,” Mr. Jaeger said.

The new boundary agreement does not affect the official city limits or American Canyon’s state-recognized sphere of influence, both of which would have to be changed through a separate process. But according to Mr. Jaeger, it could give the developers enough certainty to feel comfortable about the future of the project.

“What we were concerned about is we just didn’t have an understanding of what the whole city boundary scenario was going to be,” Mr. Jaeger said.

American Canyon’s former city manager, Mark Joseph, is leading a group called Impact 94503, which is helping to put the boundary agreement on the ballot. He said the developers probably need a larger project in order for Town Center to be profitable.

“The current configuration doesn’t make a lot of sense for the developer,” he said.

The original Town Center application includes a 44-acre retail and residential “mixed-use village” with up to 225 townhouses and condominiums, a city hall, a library, a wine tasting and event center, a 150-room hotel and 45,000 of office and retail space. The village would be surrounded by up to 280 lower-density townhouses and single-family homes and land for affordable housing, parks and open space.

That application was placed on hold last year, and city officials said the developer may submit a new proposal after the boundary question is resolved. Mr. Jaeger referred questions about a new application to McGrath Properties, whose owner, Terry McGrath declined to comment on the project.

“Any speculation regarding the Town Center project would be premature,” he said.